On Dit Magazine: Volume 78, Issue 2

o V:

78

N:

n dit magazine !

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STUDENT LIFE, OPIN LAIDE ION, P ADE OLI

TICS , AND

CULTURE.

Illustrations by ChloĂŞ Langford

A FOCUS ON MARRIAGE STUDENT MARRIAGE & MARRIAGE EQUALITY

3-10

CITY FEATURE THE (EBENEZER) PLACE TO BE

11-15

PHOTO ESSAY ROBERT FLETCHER'S "IN THE SUMMER OF 2010"

16-19

FILM SUNDANCE'S "BRAVE NEW IDEAS"

20-26

PRIMER THE 2010 STATE ELECTION

27-28

CAMPUS FEATURE SAVING THE UNIBAR

30-33

CULTURE DEFINING DISCS

34-37

CAMPUS UNION HALL, O'BALL, AND THE WALL

39-43

COLUMNISTS FESTIVAL EXPERIENCES

44-47

EDITOR S’ NO T

WANT TO CONTRIBUTE?

ES

EMAIL: ONDIT@ADELAIDE.EDU.AU PHONE: 08 8303 5404 WEB: ONDIT.COM.AU

IN WHICH TWO OUT OF THREE EDITORS ARGUE RATHER POLITELY ABOUT THE FUNDING OF STUDENT MEDIA

This year, there are three of us editing On Dit. While we share a general vision for the magazine, we are different people. Sometimes, naturally, our conceptions of student media differ. Over the past fortnight, we've been discussing the logistics of funding student publications in Australia. In the following split editorial, Connor offers an argument for increased government funding of student publications, while Myriam argues that funding for student publications is presently at a 'sweet spot', and should be neither increased nor decreased. We encourage you to contribute to the discussion: how do you see the student media landscape changing, in the long term?

IN FAVOUR OF INCREASED FUNDING

AGAINST INCREASED FUNDING

When we speak about the ‘future of journalism’, most of the time that conversation turns to new media and content distribution. Ask the editor of any large-scale metropolitan daily about the future of his or her newspaper, and the response will be something like, “We need to aggregate and monetize our Twitter and blog feeds.” Blergh. What’s missing from any discussion about the future of journalism is, well, the journalism itself. Newspapers should be asking, “How can we get better writers, writing better?”

On Dit now has OnDit.com.au, making it more convenient than ever for readers to engage with their student paper. But now that we’re online (finally!), we need to think, “What’s the future of On Dit? Where can we go from here?”

You’re gonna gasp when I tell you.

I think the future of On Dit is respecting our contributors enough to actually pay them for their words, their opinions, their photographs, their illustrations. Who will pay? It’s no big secret that, post-VSU, the student union is cash-strapped. Maybe the government should pay, by way of the university.

This is a radical idea, but something needs to be done to legitimise student media. The state of Australian journalism is on the decline because so few publications are paying writers adequately, and few are giving writers the opportunity to think and plan longer pieces. Meanwhile, government arts funding bodies are searching, rather desperately, for ways to support young writers – but few young writers are applying for funding...

A hundred and fifty years ago, French satirist Frédéric Bastiat wrote that "’government’ is the great fiction through which everybody endeavors to live at the expense of everybody else." Much has changed in that time. Consensus has emerged that the provision of certain services and goods are central to human dignity. But when calling for the expansion of public provision, one must remember the warning uttered above at a time when fiscal strains bankrupted the French Government towards a painful revolution.

Student media is something I love. It gave me a start writing non-fiction, something that I now hope to keep doing for the rest of my life. For it to be supported to anywhere near the level that Connor desires however, we have to first justify it as a public good whose provision benefits all of society (or some value held important by society, like helping those who through no fault of their own are unable to provide for themselves), and secondly, we have to prioritize its provision with other public goods, and be willing to argue that its benefits outweigh the other things the money could be spent on.

As Connor argues, supporting student media can both train future journalists, and boost the power of the fourth estate. So it is possible to make the argument that student media is, to an extent, a public good. What is totally missing is an evaluation as to why this public good in particular is more important than plugging the holes in our hospital system, paying off our government debt, and providing a myriad of other services wholly more essential than student media...

XO,

FOREVER YOURS, MYRIAM

CONNOR

[Note: both editorials are excerpts, continued as notes at facebook.com/onditmagazine. Comment and continue the conversation.]

ISSUE 1 APOLOGIES

• • • •

On page 2, ' instituation' should be replaced with ‘institution’.

'South Asia' should be amended to 'Middle East' on page 29.

The Adelaide University Union's pre-VSU budget was not $9 million annually, as stated on page 12. Rather, it was less than $3.5 million annually.

Dr. Harry Medlin was never a Vice Chancellor of the University of Adelaide, as was implied on page 22.

Editors: Connor O'Brien, Myriam Robin, Mateo Szlapek-Sewillo Writers: Seb Tonkin, Walter Marsh, Daniel Brookes, Maureen Robinson, Elizabeth Flux, Mary Campbell, Lisa Catt, Angus Chisholm, John Eldridge, Richard Ensor, Dave Harden, Sarah Bown, Lachlan Jardine, Emma-Marie Jones, Priscilla Chai Copy-editors: Tom Diment, Maureen Robinson, Chris McMichael, Joel Irwin Photographers: Haley Kohn, Robert Fletcher, Catspaw Photos, Alexandra Baldock, Angus Chisholm Illustrators: Nayana Rathmalgoda, Katie Barber, Margaret Lloyd, Lillian Katsapis, Chloê Langford All uncredited incidental illustrations by Connor O'Brien Printed by Graphic Print group Cover photograph courtesy Hannah Davis (cargocollective.com/hannahdavis)

On Dit is an Adelaide University Union publication.

The opinions expressed within are not necessarily those of the editors, the University of Adelaide, or the Adelaide University Union.

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A Focus on Marriage : Piece 1

YOU, ME, and MY B.SC. Why the new social paradigm is holding back tertiary students from getting married—and tips from those who took the plunge.

ARTICLE by

WATERCOLOUR ILLUSTRATIONS by

MAUREEN ROBINSON MARGARET LLOYD

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NGAGED AND THEN married while still a teenager, Tracy Rose has no regrets. Now 23, she reflects on her nearly four-year marriage with a mixture of scrutiny and reflection that betrays her youth.

“Madly in love” and “generally impulsive”, Rose married only halfway through her undergraduate university degree, at an age when 82% of young Australians still live at home with their parents.

“This guy actually cared about me and the matter was brought up in a mutual way,” Rose recalls. “One of my best friends was the male side in a couple that had gotten married their senior year of university. Living on campus on one hand, and seeing a functional married life on the other, I had absolutely nothing against making the switch.”

These days, the married student is an amazingly rare specimen. The lifelong commitment of “Till death do us part” is a terrifying sentiment for most teenagers and early twentysomethings, who can arguably be categorised as indecisive, self-centred, liberal, and in rabid pursuit of education and social status. In an era of skyrocketing divorce rates, broken families, and crumbling pillars of high-profile Tinseltown marital bliss (Susan Sarandon, Tiger Woods, Sean Penn, the Gosselins), it’s no wonder that more Australians than ever are abandoning their parents’ hallowed traditions of early marriage and escaping to the safe waters of tertiary education—a veritable timeout from the social norms of settling down and starting a family. But a small niche of students has battled social scrutiny, parental disapproval, financial risk, and unsupportive administrative policy to achieve something most of us wilfully put off: marriage. Who are these wedded wonders who walk among us, and how have they pulled off such a milestone event while the rest of us can barely bang out an essay on deadline?

The cautiously liberal generation Demographic trends show that married students are more marginalised than in decades past. Recently released data from the Australian Bureau

of Statistics (ABS) paints a deepening picture of wilful postponement of adult commitments such as marriage. Over the past 35 years, median age at first marriage steadily climbed an average of 6 years between the genders, jumping from 21.1 and 24.6 (women and men, respectively) in 1971 to 26.2 and 27.9 in 1989 and finally to 27.7 and 29.6 in 2008.

While we are putting off marriage, many of us are hitting the books like never before. The ABS reports that between 1998 and 2009, the proportion of 25-64 year old with a non-school qualifications (from university or college) rose from 46 to 61%, while those with a bachelor’s or higher qualification grew from 17 to 26% in the same period.

What attitudes are shaping these demographic phenomena? How do our expectations of what marriage can offer us vary from those of

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our parents’ generation? Survey results from The Australian Temperament Project, which followed from infancy 2,443 Australian born in the early 1980s, indicate that study participants (aged 26 at the time of the 2006 study) were hesitant to associate financial security and happiness with marriage, and were in no rush to tie the knot.

Although 81% stated that they would “probably” or “definitely” marry one day, only 7% answered that they expected to get married in the next year, while 53% of participants expected to marry within 3-6 years.

The study also indicated that young Australians are increasingly liberal in their views of the traditional institute of marriage, with strong support for pre-marital cohabitation and gay marriage, and strong disapproval of marriage for the main purpose of having children. The study notes that overall, young Australians still see marriage as a part of their future but “may be wary or unsure what marriage can offer them.”

The experts weigh in At the University of South Australia, Associate Professor Judith Gill is conducting research on gender, education, and work. According to Gill, a number of demographic stressors lead young people to delay settled down and getting married.

One is the increasing trend towards cohabitation, with 77.7% of young Australian couples choosing to live together before marriage. “The idea of trial is much more readily accepted and that indeed most young people spend some time living together before formally announcing their commitment,” says Gill. In addition, loosening religious constraints in our increasingly secularised society has normalised the idea of living together before marriage.

Another factor is the expectation of young women to obtain a degree before starting anything else. “The number of women with tertiary qualification has risen dramatically. Getting a degree is becoming part of the expected career preparation for young Australians, especially people from the middle classes.”

“Young middle class women today want to have an education,” agrees Chilla Bulbeck, a University of Adelaide professor emeritus and expert in gender issues. “They want to combine a marriage and motherhood with an established career.” In the course of Bulbeck’s research, she has asked a number of female high school students to imagine what age they wanted to get married and start a family. Many replied that their late 20s and early 30s was the ideal time.

“They think, ‘I will establish myself first before starting a family.’” Bulbeck notes that, as part of “notion of that the man be a little bit more mature and make more money”, men have historically preferred to start a family later in the game, after settling into a career. “It’s part of the tradition of the men needing to be looked up to and the women doing the looking.”

Seeking social acceptance For those that defy social norms and get married during or before tertiary studies, avoiding the scrutiny of their peers and colleagues can be a challenge. Rose balks at bringing up the subject at school and having to “justify a major life decision” to strangers.

“I felt a little bit alone and a little bit weird at school. I don't really bring up my marriage unless I absolutely have to. In my experience, it's

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led to questions about who he is and how we met and how old I am and why and such.”

At an age when the dating game can consume as much time and energy as a part-time job, settling down into marital routine brings with it emotional and financial consistency that many footloose young Australians lack. “I have my family life sorted out,” Rose agrees. “I'll never have to worry about that. My husband does contract IT work, and I have a school-based part-time job, so money-wise we end up supporting each other quite nicely.”

Rose, who calls married life “fun and exciting”, acknowledges that many young people “cringe at the idea” of marriage. “[But that] simply isn't relevant for us because we're that in tune with each other. And as much as social interaction beyond the marriage is completely essential, I'm still never quite alone and always have somebody to chat about something interesting with.

“You have an excellent support system outside of your parents,” says Emma Cunningham, who was married at 22 while working full-time but has since commenced full-time college study.

Money matters Transitioning from parental dependence to marital inter-dependence means more than just ticking a different box on student loan applications.

Whether one or both parties are studying, tying the knot usually necessitates some combination of finances and resources, or else another financial arrangement needs to be hashed out. “You don’t live at home and thus have bills to pay,” explains Cunningham. “I feel bad that my husband has to pick up the majority of our expenses, as we chose not to combine our finances.” She advises other young people considering marriage to “make sure at least one of you is financially stable, unless you’re prepared to live with one of your parents or go so far into debt you won’t be able to get out of it for a decade.”

Although Austudy and HECS loan entitlements are impartial to parental income or dependency status, the government Youth Allowance scheme

does take parental income dependence into consideration as a measure of entitlement. This entitlement can drastically change upon becoming independent, which occurs when a student is married or has been in a de facto relationship for at least 12 months—regardless of financial need or whether a student is actually being financially supported by a spouse or partner.

The big day: A 200-hour, $15,000-20,000 commitment For many students, university is a reckless and indulgent time of two-minute noodles, weeklong drinking binges, and dodgy sharehouse arrangements—not the most accommodating circumstances, financial or otherwise, for planning a wedding. Sue Shaw, managing director of ESP wedding planners in Adelaide, estimates that the average time needed to plan a wedding is 200 hours, and the event itself will carry a price tag of $15,000-20,000. “I tend to find that people aren’t getting married at a young age anymore,” Shaw says. “They are waiting until their late 20s or 30s or even 40s.”

Human Rights & Equity Studies student Krystyna Markee and her fiancé Rich, a business student, intend to hire a wedding planner for their 2011 vows, while both are still at university. 19-year-old Krystyna, who hadn’t yet started university when she got engaged, isn’t stressed about planning just yet, but “can see it becoming stressful... although the internet makes things much faster.”

For Candice Eisner, who got married one month after graduation, having school commitments in the background of wedding plans was both an asset and a handicap. Although “very stressed” from the balancing act, Eisner found that as a student, her flexible schedule accommodated wedding plans much more easily than it would for a nine-to-fiver. “That meant I could meet with wedding vendors or do wedding planning at odd times of the day. It was beneficial having an easy built-in time for all those lastminute details that needed to be done the week

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of the wedding, and having built-in ‘vacation’ for the honeymoon.” Despite wedding-date chaos at the hands of an exam schedule conflict and a faculty strike at her school, Eisner says that in hindsight, “things went pretty well.”

Getting help: Resources on campus Married students—an umbrella term which also applies to mature students with families who return to school—face an unsettling void of dedicated administrative attention on at the University of Adelaide. Few in number and largely self-sufficient, this faction is considered too fringe to fall under the purview of university resource administrators.

All university accommodation—including both regular flats and houses and the littleknown emergency units for students in crisis—is for single students only. Not one accommodation unit is set aside for couples or families, although Accommodation Services is quick to point out that they do assist couples to find a private rental property with their rental database.

Professor Gill, who lived in married student housing in America in the 1960s, cites cultural differences as Australia’s reason for not providing dedicated housing options for couples or families. “We don’t have the population of people that need that accommodation. Most Australians [go] to university in their hometown. It wasn’t taken on board for universities to accommodate married students. There were very limited cases... It’s just not part of the university culture and married students nowadays are faced with the lack of opportunity and the cost of private enterprise.”

In the eyes of the university, “family is looked at as sort of an appendage to the student,” says Professor Bulbeck. “And those students comprise a small percentage of the population who are invisible to the university administration.”

Further disquieting is the university’s lack of specific policies that apply to married students or students with families. In cases of missed examinations or labs due to family commitments

(for example, a sick child or spouse, or daycare closure), the onus is on the student to convince his or her respective faculty that the circumstances permit special consideration—a level of non-committal subjective discretion that may leave affected students with few options or alternatives.

(Unquestionably, to those of us having endured a few years at uni already and been subjected to the inner mechanisms of the administrative machine, a vaguely framed policy operated by a large, multi-armed institution is more than likely to leave students exasperated and defeated than to herald a success story of fair and timely treatment).

“There is no out and out straightforward rule about that,” says Peter Backhouse, Policies Coordinator at the university’s Student Policy and Appeals office. “There is a blanket universitywide policy for supplementary exams, and child care could fall under that category ... If you apply for a supplementary exam, you need to have some sort of supporting evidence or documentation, like letters from doctors or treating practitioners. In some circumstances, the school will consider it, but it is subjective and has to be in line with the university-wide policy.”

Chris Gent, an Education and Welfare Officer (EWO) at the Adelaide University Union’s student care office, paints a picture of low demand and subsequently sparse and inconsistent resources.

“Married students have never been a particular issue... They are a very small minority.”

Gent claims that the university carries the burden of its scarcity of resources “The majority of our students are school leavers. There has never been any contemplation by the university for married people or people with children.”

“In the case of emergency accommodation, they would be on the open market. There is nothing that the university provides.”

Gent points out that the EWOs can help such students via financial counselling. He also recalls occasions where marital problems have compromised students’ academic progress.

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“There have been some instances with student marital problems where the faculties have said, ‘well you need to sort out your marital problems or you shouldn’t be taking this course.’ But overall the faculties have been pretty understanding and accommodating.”

Although the Counselling Centre on campus does not host any specific programs relating to marriage or family, the trained psychologists and social workers in the Centre’s employ see a significant volume of students for a range of relationship matters. 50-minute counselling sessions are available for individuals or couples, and regular counselling sessions can be scheduled for married couples with ongoing marital conflict.

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Looking ahead Demographically marginalised by ongoing trends in Australians’ attitudes towards marriage, married students are a quiet minority—although an ever-present one, and perhaps one that does not deserved to be ignored by host universities. The phenomena of student marriage is rarely accommodated and largely overlooked, although the lack of attention thus far may speak to the relative self-sufficiency of this group.

According to these married students though, the payback has, in their cases, far outweighed the stress, provided one avoids the obvious pitfalls while balancing marital and academic commitments. “If you’re in a program that requires a ton of school hours and study time, like mine

was, don’t have a short engagement and huge traditional wedding,” cautions Eisner. “You won’t have time to do any of the planning.”

“On the school side,” Rose says, “It's a bit difficult to get studying done at home when my husband isn't in school, is chatty and buzzing about and such. I'm not as interested in extra-curriculars since I live off-campus. Generally, though, my schoolwork gets done and I maintain good grades with about as much stress as anybody else.”

Markee advocates for cohabitation before marriage. “ You get used to each other’s habits like leaving empty containers in the fridge or time on the microwave, which drives me crazy.”

Clearly, marriage and academia present a balancing act that young Australians, with their hyper-paced, triple-booked lives, aren’t unfit (but perhaps a bit short on time) to handle.

While many university-aged teens and adults have knee-jerk misgivings at mention of the “M” word, success stories do walk among us and prove that “student” and “devoted husband/ wife” are not mutually exclusive identities.

ABOUT THE WRITER

MAUREEN ROBINSON is a Canadian post-grad in Water Resources Management who originally hails from Toronto and Ottawa. She spent half of her undergrad buried under chemistry textbooks and the other half editing and writing content for the University of Ottawa’s weekly student newspaper. Her journalistic interests include burning bridges, digging up dirt, and fucking shit up. She speaks Franglais and fights like a hockey player.

ABOUT THE ARTIST

MARGARET LLOYD is an Adelaide artist who paints women and deer, and who constantly exhibits around town. She likes coffee, oil paint, and books by Haruki Murakami. You can view some of her work at www.flickr.com/maltrick .

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A Focus on Marriage : Piece 2

LOVE IS QUEER

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In mid-2009, Australian same-sex couples were granted the right to benefits awarded to 'de facto' partners. How long until we see real marriage equality? words

MARY CAMPBELL

S

OCIETY AND BIOLOGY conspire to make the majority of us want to end up married.

And, apparently, people aren’t the only ones. There are a few insects, fish, mammals, quite a large number of birds and even a species of parasitic worm that live together, have sex monogamously, and cooperate with their

illustration

LILLIAN KATSAPIS partners in order to acquire basic resources.

Though it doesn’t exactly sound like Mills and Boon, it turns out there are plenty of us that want a lifelong relationship (and maybe even some of that resource acquisition). A recent study (‘Not So Private Lives’) by the University of Queensland shows that 53% of same-sex couples

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A Focus on Marriage : Piece 2

would marry if they could. So why are we still denying some Australians their civil rights?

Jason Virgo is a second-year internationalstudies student who admits he never really used to think about “rights and all that” until he was inspired by the least likely of sources—his tax return. While the form recognised heterosexual couples that had lived together for over 12 months, same-sex couples in the same position were not.

“That’s when it hit me,” Virgo says.

“Oh God, they don’t even care. The Howard government didn’t even notice, didn’t even care.”

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Jason’s now an active supporter of Equal Love, a nationwide campaign for same-sex marriage that has been running for five years. The campaign seeks to put pressure on the government to legislate for marriage equality, an inclusive term that applies to same-sex, transsexual, and non gender-specific couples. And it can be said that inclusion is really what the whole campaign is about.

While there remains a ban on same-sex marriage ban in Australia, arguments for its removal are mounting.

Marriage equality guarantees financial and legal protection to both parties. Virgo points out that if he were married to his partner, he would be assured legal rights in the event of a split or visiting rights if his partner were hospitalised.

Marriage equality would also provide more adequate legal support for children raised by samesex couples.

Recently, reports were released that estimate the Australian economy is missing out on upwards of $700 million that could be generated by a same-sex marriage industry.

Despite the economic stimuli, the most crucial argument in favour of marriage equality is that it

would, lead to better equality for those who fall outside of the “straight” category. As I’m talking to Virgo, it is clear that marriage isn’t just a ring and a piece of paper to him - it affords people a place in society where they, and the significance of their relationship, can be recognised.

“I think marriage sort of has this specific thing,” sas Virgo. “It gives people respect. If you say that you’re married, people know that you’re committed.”

According to a Galaxy poll survey commissioned by Australian Marriage Equality (a lobby group for for equal marriage rights), 60 per cent of Australians already support same sex marriage. Despite those numbers, Jason admits that there are still some obstacles the Equal Love campaign has to overcome. In particular, apathy.

“I think it’s unstoppable. Saying that, I think if people are apathetic about it, it will be delayed by many years. 60 percent of Australians support same-sex marriage, though just because they support it doesn’t mean they are out there fighting for it. I think gay Australians maybe need to be more of a swinger voter to get it happening.

Or more Australians need to come on board. But at the moment it’s not really considered a vote changer.”

While politicians, including Anthony Albanese, have also described the movement for equality as “unstoppable”, Equal Love faces an uphill battle in an election year that promises to pit conservative against conservative. While the current government has amended the Family Law Act to remove same-sex discrimination from areas such as tax, superannuation and employment entitlements, these amendments do not currently apply in South Australia, as the power has not been referred to the Commonwealth.

Even with these setbacks, Jason still seems to have a genuine air of both chipper hopefulness and bold determination that the campaign will inevitably be a success and equal rights will be granted to all Australians. “There’s no reason why queer couples shouldn’t be allowed to marry.

There isn’t, really. All it is, is basically bigotry.”

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THE EBENEZER EFFECT. (Or, how a modest red-bricked alleyway could change the way we shop, for the better).

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WORDS by

LISA CATT

T

PHOTOGRAPHS by

HALEY KOHN (Photograph on page 14 by Lisa Catt.)

UCKED BETWEEN GRENFELL and Rundle Street, lies Ebenezer Place: a quaint, leafy alleyway with an undeniable vibe - laid-back, sociable, young, and hip.

Ebenezer is not just any shopping street; it is warming up to be one of the most dynamic amidst the newly energised East End. It's surprising that Ebenezer remains relatively unknown its shops are definitely worth knowing about. Vintage fashion, local brands, and international designers, as well as cafes serving premium beverages - caffeinated or alcoholic, depending on your mood.

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Ebenezer Place

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"It is an exciting little street with such a different blend of stores, great people, and a great atmosphere," remarks Jade, owner of the chic wallpapered clothes store, Jade Foxx Empire - a recent addition to the Ebenezer clan.

Many of us deem our city stagnant and behind the times. A stroll down Ebenezer defies these preconceptions. Its young and social atmosphere exudes a vibe often deemed impossible in Adelaide: cool. From this defiance - which stands boldly to delegitimise the label of Badelaide, and all its literary brilliance - the street assumes a greater significance within our wider social scope.

Ebenezer shows what you can stumble across when you are willing to step away from familiarity, break ingrained habits by stepping off the conventional route of Adelaide's shopping strip, and dare to explore the nooks of our city.

[Cue Freudian thought].

Ebenezer's deviation away from 'Vogue' fashion, along with its bright urban-funk graffiti walls, has bred a quirkiness and refreshingly unique character. Ebenezer exposes an inherently lazy and unadventurous nature, and distrust towards the credibility and possibilities of our city.

Reminiscent of the goldmine alleyways hidden throughout the Melbourne CBD, Ebenezer Place exemplifies the trendy, artistic, and inclusive hub developing in the East End; however, it also possesses an edge that distinguishes it from Rundle Street.

"This is how overseas markets operate", explains Andy, the friendly owner of Right Hand Distribution - a jean store that houses some of the world's most reputable denim brands. "You can take this street and put it anywhere else in the world - Melbourne, Sydney, the UK, Tokyo or Sweden. The young kids there don't shop the main strips, they shop the back ends; that is where the more creative and up and coming guys are... the less commercial options," he continues.

There are some beautiful and excitingly different things to find in this little back end. Shop Five is

home to Oscar the Third, a local brand gaining considerable interest from fashionistas nationwide. Even with this growing attention, Jess, Oscar the Third's creator, and her sister, Molly, still choose to keep the brand's base in this backstreet of Adelaide. "I like shopping down here because the stock is different. You know you're not going to walk out and see 32 other people wearing your new purchase, like you do when you shop at Sportsgirl," remarks one shopper perusing Shop Five. Maybe that is just it. If more of us weren't so intent on following the crowd to Sportsgirl - or to the Havelock, or to Cibo - we would be pleasantly surprised as to what is on offer in our city.

Nano Ready 2 Go, a cafe that relocated from Hutt St. to join the fun at Ebenezer, serves a mean flat white. The best bit: their outdoor seating area offers a pleasant spot to perch yourself in the sunshine, away from bustling traffic.

Just across the way is the Belgian Beer Cafe; a pub with a selection of beer that extends beyond Pale Ale and Extra Dry, a cosy European feel, and a chilled crowd. And for those who are sick of a headless pint, good news. They can actually pour a beer.

"Adelaide is slack at exploring places further than the Mall", comments Molly from Shop Five.

Andy echoes such sentiment, "People [from Adelaide] go to Sydney and they say how they love the laneways, but they don't search them out in their backyard." Indeed, most of the Ebenezer customers are from interstate. "I can have a whole day

RIGHT: Shop Five

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Ebenezer Place

of people from just the Eastern States," remarks Chloe from Hero, a nationally sought out vintage store. "Just the other day there were three girls from Brisbane, a design student from Sydney, and a client sourcing a pair of vintage Nikes from Melbourne."

Right Hand Distribution has recently added Samurai jeans to its impressive collection. This highly acclaimed brand from Japan is also stocked by Blue in Green, an internationally-renowned

store

that calls Soho, New York home.

Yet, when informing customers of the brand's reputation, Andy often spots a glance of suspicion in customers' eyes, asking, why then, if it is so good, is it in Adelaide?

Undoubtedly, no questions would be asked in Blue in Green.

"There is a great distrust for retailers here.

There was a time, for quite a number of years, when retailers were buying old season stock… [as a result] people felt like they were getting off second best," explains Andy. However, the general consensus of the street is that change is in the

air. "Adelaide is getting more confident… people are starting to believe in it more," adds Andy.

With the Fringe festivities hitting the city, business along Ebenezer is sure to flourish. The street's interactivity will thrive on the electric atmosphere that grips the East End throughout February and March. And the shop owners cannot wait.

Although each store along Ebenezer is independent from the other, they share a strong sense of collectiveness. The beanbags, wooden stools, and deck chairs scattered along the shop fronts are evidence of this - occupied with the employees on Friday nights, all hanging out and chatting with a not-so-sneaky beer or vino. And what do the landowners think of such frivolity?

They encourage it! It encapsulates the very essence of what they envisioned for the street.

The lower rent also helps; as Andy explains, "It allows you to be more creative and less mainstream, and that is where the fun comes in…you get to be more relaxed".

For all of these reasons, the street has struck the perfect balance of friendship and competition. The newer stores all mention the warm reception they received when opening, especially from the venerable Ebenezer institutions, First in Flight and Midwest Trader.

Ebenezer Place is relaxed. It is sociable. Interactive. Lively. Fun. It is a community where store owners know and support each other. A community that we all should help reach its exciting potential. It is time to discover small wonders - as proclaimed by the street's banner - and realise that the term Radelaide can be said with confidence, rather than with sarcastic overtones.

LEFT: Right Hand Distribution ABOUT THE WRITER

LISA CATT is frolicking through her Media and Commerce degrees. While studying in New York for a semester, she published in the online newspaper Brooklyn Today. Her days are now spent plotting ways in which she can score a Green Card: acquiring an LA sugar daddy or wedding her gay college neighbour are proving to be her most promising prospects.

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In the Summer of 2010 BIG DAY OUT FESTIVAL PHOTOGRAPHY by

ROBERT FLETCHER Since taking up live music photography in 2006, I have shot hundreds of gigs from small local bands in intimate venues to large international acts at festivals such as the Big Day Out and the Falls Music Festival.

Whilst it is an expensive past-time, it has more than paid off in the money I’ve saved on tickets.

I got my break through music sites such as FasterLouder and The Dwarf as a volunteer contributor. The sad reality is that most live music photographers don’t get paid for their work, unless they are on the staff of a major newspaper or agency.

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Publicists will only grant passes to working media, so you’re out of luck trying to email them as just a student trying to get in. I have had some success contacting band management directly. Some were really helpful and appreciative, and I still shoot for them today.

Once the publicist has accepted your credentials, you will need to sign a contract before being granted a pass. Generally the industry rule is ‘first three songs, no flash’. With only about 10 to 15 minutes in the pit, you need to understand the bands stage personas and know what to look for to get the best shots.

Most contracts will stipulate that the photos taken can only be used for one publication and can’t be sold.

Some bands such as rock super group Them Crooked Vultures demand that the photographer hand over copyright to the photos. This has sparked outrage in the community at the thought of artists ripping off other artists.

Other contracts state if you break the contract you need to pay $30,000 in damages. Whilst they may appear severe, any first year law student will tell you most of these “contracts” aren’t legally enforceable. At the same time, if you do break the rules, word will get around pretty quickly and you will soon find yourself blacklisted.

It can be extremely competitive in the pit, trying to grab the best vantage point, but we still look out for each other by ducking and weaving to avoid ruining others shots. At the end of the day its not whether I got a better shot than the guy next to me, but whether I can out do myself whilst enjoying great live music.

Photographs, top to bottom Page 17: Lily Allen; Kasabian's Tom Meighan Page 18: Passion Pit's Michael Angelakos; The Horror's Faris Badwan Page 19: Peaches

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ONDITMAGAZINE ― FEATURES

HOLD ON TO YOUR

STUBS.

Utah's Sundance, long the world's premier independent film festival, has changed of late, attracting Hollywood celebrity and paparazzi.

In 2010, organisers promised the "rebirth of the battle for brave new ideas". How exactly did it all pan out?

20 by

P

ANGUS CHISHOLM

eople act funny around celebrities. I mean, really funny. And when I say funny it's really just a polite way of saying they turn into fawning, blathering idiots or snap-happy sycophants.

At the end of almost every screening at the Sundance Film Festival, there's a Q&A session between the audience and some of the people involved in the making of the film, typically the director, some of the cast and the producers. You might think these yield some interesting discussions and back and forth but you'd be wrong. Rest assured, Sundance is not the place to go for constructive criticism.

Sundance is the place to go for 10 days of non-stop film screenings in the driving snow of Park City, Utah - normally a ski-resort town that turns into a small outpost for filmmakers from around the world to take in and show off the latest and not-so-greatest in independent cinema to the media and film fans (and, of course, prospective buyers). It's also one of the world's most accessible major film festivals, which is how people like me can be privy to it all. You can buy your tickets in

RIGHT: Photograph courtesey Catspaw Photos (www.catspawphotos.com).

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Sundance

advance, or you can go the cheaper way and show up early at each screening and join the wait list.

These tickets on the day cost a mere $15.

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The day before the festival proper started, shopkeepers along the town's steep Main Street could be seen cleaning their windows and clearing snow, presumably preparing for the arrival of the town's guests. One of the shops along Main Street - an unassuming thoroughfare mostly filled with tourist-trap art galleries - advertised itself as a 'boutique for cats and dogs' which seemed like a distinctly Hollywood touch. Main Street's nightlife takes on a distinctly tacky hue during Sundance as well, with overpriced everything and mediocre DJs de rigueur. Indeed, if it weren't for the movies and the skiing, Park City during Sundance would get old fast.

To get to the movies, one first has to fight through the festival's dreadful marketing for 2010 which is all over their literature. An excerpt: 'This is the fight against the establishment of the expected. This is the rebirth of the battle for brave new ideas. This is Sundance, reminded'.

I mean, what the hell were they thinking? You couldn't even get a student election campaign to run with that sort of rhetoric.

There was also an opening night party to contend with, which I thought would be an excellent opportunity for some people-watching and I was not disappointed. No celebrities naturally (no actor is going to wait 40 minutes to be served at an open bar) but there was a variety of behind-thescenes people from the less-hyped films, husband hunters, hangers-on and people like me who just happened to have a ticket to the party.

On the way to the party I spoke to one of the festival volunteers at the bus stop. Sundance employs a coterie of volunteers every year to keep things ticking along, whether they give guidance at the bus stops or look after the logistics at the theatres. This one in particular, a musician, told me that his manager had advised him to come to Sundance to do some networking, and he thought

that while he was there he might as well volunteer. An amusing example of opportunism, I thought, but not entirely unreasonable. It's the sort of place where you never know who you can meet or get talking to. The film industry, which can often seem like an impenetrable behemoth, lays itself partially bare to the 40,000 people that pass through Park City during Sundance.

For an outsider that has to be one of the most fascinating and appealing aspects of the festival. A lot of the bullshit is stripped away and what you're left with is filmmakers who just like to see and talk about movies.

Sundance gets a lot of flak for its films being overtly 'indie' and the first film I saw fit that bill pretty well. Hesher features darling of the indie cinema scene Joseph Gordon-Levitt as the eponymous eccentric metalhead drifter who attaches himself to an unfortunate kid, TJ (Devon Brochu), who's suffered a family tragedy.

TJ is trying to save a beaten-up car from an impound lot, the significance of which is not fully understood until later, and neither his deadbeat dad (Rainn Wilson) nor his elderly grandmother (Piper Laurie) can help. Meanwhile, he develops an infatuation with Natalie Portman and all the while Hesher makes his life as uncomfortable for him as possible. It's a decent film and ought to do reasonable business on the back of the cast. The writing is sometimes sharp but the direction is slightly muddled and the whole concept of Hesher as a character is a bit one-note. It all drags on more than it should, but is uniformly well-acted.

Before the screening, Spencer Susser, the film's director, takes the stage and, slightly awed by the 1,300 crowd at the Eccles theatre, informs us all that he just finished the film less than 48 hours ago. It was reassuring to discover that that there are some constants in filmmaking, whether one is working on a small student video assignment or a film driven by Hollywood stars and debuting at a major film festival.

The second film, Please Give, also has a certain indie feel about it but in that different, low

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23

Queue for a screening at the Egyptian Theatre, Sundance 2010. Photography courtesy Angus Chisholm.

key, shot-in-New York sort of way. Nicole Holofcener's fourth feature film has much in common with her first three: witty dialogue and welldefined, multidimensional female characters (played by Catherine Keener, Rebecca Hall and Amanda Peet). It's about a couple (Keener and Oliver Platt) who run a furniture store in Manhattan. The woman sates her liberal guilt by giving generously to beggars on the street, much to the disgust of her teenage daughter. Meanwhile the couple wait for their next-door neighbour, an elderly grandmother of two women (Hall and Peet), to die so that they can renovate and expand their apartment. Never riotously funny but completely comfortable with its own pace, it's a film that

lives in its own bubble of unobjectionable goodness even if it doesn't particularly stick in the memory.

That sounds like I'm damning it with faint praise but Please Give is the sort of movie one comes to appreciate just a little bit more when they see a well-intentioned but flawed work like John Wells' The Company Men, which deals with the post-GFC adversity endured by many American families in the form of job loss. It's a fall from grace tale as Ben Affleck's initially cocky and unappealing main character has his life fall apart when he's made redundant and can't find another job as quickly as he'd like. It's rounded out by a superb supporting cast featuring Tommy Lee

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Jones, Chris Cooper and Maria Bello, but in spite of their best efforts the film itself is flabby, lacking in urgency and in need of a re-edit. There's a lack of spark in the drama, all the tension leads you to believe that something incendiary is going to happen but it never really does and the film, which could have been something more powerful, is worse for it.

The following day I saw one of the most buzzed about films going into the festival, HOWL, a film about Allen Ginsberg's poem of the same name. It's a unique film, apparently very faithful to real life - based on evidence from interviews and (amusingly old-fashioned) court transcripts dating from the obscenity trial in which the poem was scrutinised (for its lurid depictions of sex and drug use). The film itself can roughly be divided into three parts: The trial, interviews with Ginsberg as played by the ever-studious James Franco, and the poem itself, which is read by Franco as Ginsberg and set to animation. It's here where the film's creative flourishes take place.

The animation itself is a bit hit-and-miss but, the film as a whole - which feels like a documentary at heart and is directed by Rob Epstein and Jeffrey Friedman, two renowned documentary filmmakers - is a fascinating snapshot of that period of the poet's life and the poem itself.

HOWL was followed by Night Catches Us, a slow-building drama set in a black neighbourhood in Philadelphia in the late 70s. Marcus (Anthony Mackie) returns home after a self-imposed exile, where he remains unpopular as he's perceived as a snitch by the locals. There he reunites with his old friend Patricia (Kerry Washington), a lawyer with a daughter who also looks out for troubled teenager and Black Panther Jimmy (Amari Cheatom). We learn that Marcus and Patricia have a complicated history, which catches up with them.

The plot takes a while to get where it's going but as it builds it becomes gradually more interesting and builds to a satisfying conclusion.

As an examination of suburban crime and its consequences, Night Catches Us falls some way

short of the standard set by the outstanding Australian film Animal Kingdom. After his mother dies, Josh (James Frecheville) moves in with his slightly eccentric relatives who all happen to be tied up in Melbourne's criminal subculture. Their family is provoked by the actions of the police, which set off a chain of events with ultimately devastating consequences. Josh has the information to put certain members of his family to justice, such as the vile Pope (Ben Mendelsohn).

Detective Leckie (Guy Pearce) tries to earn Josh's trust and all the while the family matriarch (Jackie Weaver) grows suspicious and conspiratorial. It's a tightly plotted, well detailed and suspenseful crime drama that's beautifully shot and superbly realised by director David MichĂ´d (who also co-wrote Hesher), making his feature debut and laying down a marker as a huge talent to watch. The film sees Australian release on April 29, and you're guaranteed to hear a lot more about it in the coming weeks.

It's always an experience to see a movie in a packed theatre in America - in a festival or otherwise - because they react to what's on screen in a way that we simply don't. Without wanting to give anything away, Animal Kingdom elicited some interesting reactions. The buzz for the movie among the audience afterwards was some of the most positive I'd heard during the whole festival.

The buzz for the film after Animal Kingdom, though, was decidedly more mixed. The Extra Man is based on a novel by Jonathan Ames (creative force behind the amusing HBO series Bored To Death) and directed by Shari Springer Berman and Rober Pulcini who are best known for cult favourite American Splendour. It's about a young man, Louis (Paul Dano), who is fired from his job as a teacher at a university and decides to move to Manhattan and start over. He rents an apartment with a bizarre older man and former college professor, Henry Harrison (Kevin Kline, hilarious) who has a distinctly conservative out-

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Sundance

look. which is unfortunate as our protagonist has a slight proclivity towards transvestism. Until that particular fetish becomes apparent though, Harrison takes Louis under his wing, mentoring him in his ways.

One thing is clear from the movie and that is that Ames is brilliantly gifted at writing eccentricities for characters. Often he writes little details that for a small film like this can yield so many unique comedic flourishes that help it stand out. I enjoyed it, but the mixed reception was along the lines of 'not my sort of humour'. If you enjoy Bored To Death, or possess a quirky yet smart sense of humour, then this may be for you.

The final day ended with a disappointment. Animal Collective seem like the sort of band whose hype, refreshingly, doesn't get to their heads.

Perhaps that goes some way to explaining why their career to date has been a mixture of memorable highs and forgettable lows as the band does whatever they feel like, without bowing to outside pressure. And while 2009 was a succession of remarkable highs for them, 2010 starts with the experimental misstep that is their visual album: Oddsac. Directed by buddy Danny Perez and clocking in at just under an hour, the film has been about four years in the making. While it gets off to a promising start with some intriguing visuals and urgent music, it quickly degenerates into something frustratingly impenetrable and in-jokey, the music (made gradually over that four-year period, as band member Dave Portner revealed to me in the Q&A) becomes inconsistent and seldom hits the highs of their recent output.

I realise it's a slack reviewer's clichĂŠ but it's the sort of movie where you have to be high to get the most enjoyment out of it, with its freaky visuals and schlock-horror inspired costumes and makeup. Perhaps with that in mind it'll find a cult audience, but if you're sober it's pretty forgettable, even if you are a fan.

Thankfully the final day wasn't an entire dud and it began with one of the funniest films I've

seen in quite a while, Four Lions. Another movie you're bound to hear about, Four Lions is about four bumbling, incompetent British Jihadists who plot to blow themselves up in a public place to get their message across. It's the near perfect blend of satire and farce, slapstick physical comedy and amusing dialogue. The film also - to its great credit - doesn't cop out on us and follows its suicide-bomber concept through to its logical (half-hilarious, half-sobering) conclusion.

On top of that, that it manages to make its characters vaguely sympathetic, despite their idiocy and murderous intent is some achievement.

Although I'm not sure everyone will share my enthusiasm for this film simply due to its fairly grim subject matter, which is backed up by a considerable and impressive amount of research by the film's writer-director and notable British satirist Chris Morris. The cast fearlessly throw themselves at the work and despite the controversy that will inevitably follow this film, it is surely destined to earn a loyal following.

After Four Lions there was a Q&A further down Main Street on the subject of Australia, given that it happened to be Australia Day. The minds behind Animal Kingdom were in attendance as well as some of the people behind Bran Nue Dae which screened at Sundance, including its director Rachel Perkins. The most interesting observation was when MichĂ´d said that he was very pleased that Animal Kingdom opened at Sundance because, to paraphrase, people in Australia are reluctant to see Australian movies unless people overseas see and recommend them.

It's an interesting point that certainly has merit and the buzz for the film from an event like this is going to serve it very well back home. It's simply an excellent example of the crime genre that happens to be set in Australia, and doesn't live or die by its innate Australianness. Animal Kingdom won the world cinema jury prize at the festival.

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This was a low-key Q&A compared to those that take place after screenings. It's the before and after processes involving the celebrities where people turn funny. Before a screening, as the actors enter and take their seats, the tourists betray themselves by standing up, whipping their heads in the general direction of the actors and unsheathing their compact cameras and taking photos of the talent.

It's a display not too physically dissimilar to what one might expect from a mob of meerkats, if they had been exposed to digital technology 26

and opposable thumbs.

Then after the film come the Q&As. Although it's not so much 'Question & Answer' as 'Rambling, Clumsy Statement of Adoration & Awkward Response'. For some it's like the spoken-word equivalent of carefully positioning classic literature in your home to make yourself look smart, as they make observations about the themes of the film, don't actually ask a question, and the director has to engage in some longwinded response which is tantamount to 'I agree' about the film that they actually made. Then there are the simply appalling 'what happened to x character after the movie ended?!' questions.

As my father observed afterward, it's as if these people have never actually seen a movie before

in their lives. A lot of the directors are shy and restrained. You get the sense that for them, talking too much about their movies is like a magician revealing his tricks, which can lead to some disappointingly insubstantial answers.

Thankfully in most cases the end products speak for themselves, which is how it should be.

Sundance might get a lot of flak these days from the in-the-know 'ain't what it used to be' crowd, but there's something beguiling about the heady mix (sometimes quite literally - watch for altitude sickness) of small-town America, hundreds of films and snow sports that make it a worthwhile experience for anyone into movies.

There's also the business side of things which is fascinating to observe. Every year distributors make lucrative bids for the films showing at Sundance so that they can see a wider audience. Precious' journey to Academy Award nominations began here. Festival HQ, based in the Park City Marriott hotel, is a hive of business activity and wanky networking. It's worth sitting in a quiet corner and watching this unfamiliar world pass you by.

But if you see someone famous there, or anywhere in Park City, then please, for your own good, don't act funny.

ABOUT THE WRITER

ANGUS CHISHOLM started a Bachelor of Media, finished that, decided he wants a job and so is now trying to finish his law degree. He started writing for On Dit in 2006 in the hope that cute indie arts girls would come up to him, ask if he writes for On Dit and flutter their eyelashes, but it hasn't quite panned out that way. He can be easily reached at the gmail address which shares his name.

ONDITMAGAZINE ― FEATURES

Primer: Your Introduction to the Modern World

The 2010 State Election So there’s a State Election on March 20. Richard Ensor from Radio Adelaide’s flagship political show 'Represent' (6pm Fridays, 101.5 FM) drops the science on what it’s all about.

(With assistance from co-host Paris Dean; illustrations by Nayana Rathmalgoda).

Key Issues Hospital vs. Stadium Labor has promised to build a new hospital with improved facilities designed to address South Australia’s growing health needs and reduce hospital waiting lists. That’s all well and fine, but the Libs will just upgrade the existing Royal Adelaide Hospital and spend the remaining money on a FUCKING WICKED footy stadium. You might have to worry about getting a seat in the emergency room, but when this new sports venue is completed with a capacity of five times the projected average attendance level, you’ll never have to worry about getting a seat at the big game!

Advantage: Liberals Southern Expressway Expansion Back in the 90s, The Liberals constructed this bad boy, but (and it seemed like such a good idea at the time!) traffic can only flow in one direction any given time. While this visionary enterprise has meant that South Australia holds the record for the world’s longest reversible one-way freeway, the killjoys at Labor have pledged to upgrade the road so that traffic can flow both ways. It’s going to cost $370 million to duplicate the ex-

pressway in 2010, compared with the $68 million price tag of making a two-way freeway in the first place. Strangely, Isobel Redmond called a press conference on the expressway, and then sent along her Finance spokesman Rob Lucas, who then announced that he wasn’t announcing anything. At the time of writing this is still the case, and even if they do match Labor’s commitment later in the campaign, Mike Rann got some serious momentum out of this one.

Advantage: Labor Trust Recent polls show that 51% of people trust Liberal leader Isobel Redmond, while only 34% trust Premier Mike Rann. This is a clear advantage for the Liberals, but you’ve got to wonder what exactly voters mean when they say they ‘trust’ their political leaders. Does it mean that they trust them with the state’s future? That they trust them when they promise to lower unemployment and keep crime rates low? Or does it mean that they reckon it’s true when their leaders say they did NOT court a waitress from the parliamentary bar and have sex with them in their office and then again in the back of Mike Rann’s car on Memorial Drive? Either way, Isobel Redmond is on a winner here.

Advantage: Liberals

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Key Players

cally makes your opinion right! Atkinson also came under fire for attempting to censor internet debate during the state election, but don’t think this man doesn’t understand the power of the internet – he’s got his own Facebook fan group, with 29 fans. Unfortunately, the largest of about 100 anti-Atkinson groups has 4,640 members… tough break Michael. :-(

Key Battlegrounds

28

Mike Rann Mike Rann is a dirty old man who will stop at nothing to get his grubby, sweaty paws on every woman he sees. Allegedly. When it comes to being out of touch with voters, but having his finger on the pulse of women who aren’t his wife, Rann gets results. Allegedly. It seems that Rann’s been so busy presiding over a booming state economy that he’s forgotten how to preside over a monogamous relationship. Allegedly. Vote 1 the Liberal Party. (Special thanks to The Advertiser for providing this profile piece) Isobel Redmond Since becoming opposition leader, Isobel Redmond has heroically shied away from the normal personality politics of modern campaigning; in fact she’s pretty much shied away from any personality at all. She’s kept such a low profile in fact, that no picture of her exists in the public domain (bad luck Wikipedia). Redmond’s finally tuned political antenna has helped her outperform her predecessor, Martin Hamilton-Smith, who was brought down by the “Dodgy Documents” scandal last year. Redmond’s biggest strength has been that she leaves all wild and unsubstantiated defamatory criticism of the Labor party in the capable hands of the Australian media. Come Election Day, we’ll find out if just sitting there doing nothing is enough to get Redmond over the line.

Michael Atkinson This guy is seriously the Minister for Being a Jerk.

He’s using his veto power as SA’s attorney-general to hold up the rest of the country in getting an R rating for video games, and treating everyone who disagrees with him like Hitler along the way.

Fun fact: shouting “I’M PROTECTING THE CHILDREN!!!” when arguing with someone automati-

Norwood Encompassing St Peters, Trinity Gardens and of course Norwood, this blue-ribbon electorate is sure to be hotly contested, with voters facing the dilemmas that the 2006 election has left them pondering: “Why do I keep voting Labor?”

“What’s the name of the Liberal leader again?”

“How can I stop my wife voting for the Greens?”

And the list goes on. Winning Norwood will be a tough task for both major parties, but whoever can promise the most middle class welfare and the lowest capital gains tax will probably just come through with the goods in this vital seat.

Legislative Council South Australia’s Upper House is usually pretty interesting, but to be honest, this place has been a little boring since our main man Nick Xenophon took his stunt parade to Canberra. Australia’s last Democrat standing and all-round crazy lady Sandra Kanck has resigned, and Independent Ann Bressington has stopped saying stupid things for the time being at least. With things so dull, maybe it’s time for a new era of zany singleissue MLCs, and nothing says zany like all those AbortSA posters all around town. But seriously, don’t vote for AbortSA. Conclusion: At the end of all this, Labor’s gonna get home even after losing some seats. They might have to bribe a few independent MPs who’ll end up holding the balance of power but they’ll manage to stay in Government. It’s not gonna be a huge deal and when it’s over we can all turn our attention to the bigger, more interesting show happening later this year in Canberra.

Hear S ay!

LITERARY ANNUAL

Submit short stories (up to 3000 words) for publication in Hearsay, the On Dit Magazine literary annual.

Stories will be judged by a selected panel of published authors and industry professionals. Prizes to be announced.

Submissions due Monday April 26.

hearsay@ondit.com.au

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SAVING THE UNIBAR 30

Words

Photography

JOHN ELDRIDGE ALEXANDRA BALDOCK

“

I

t’s really hard to fuck up selling beer to students." Adelaide University Union (AUU) Board director Lavinia Emmett-Grey, more than two years after the Union relinquishment of North Terrace food and beverage outlets, remains sceptical of the wisdom of delivering the UniBar from student control.

If the bar figures strongly in her thoughts, she is hardly alone. In fact, the UniBar might be one of the last bulwarks of old undergraduate camaraderie. It serves as a rallying point for student politics, a launching-pad for myriad pub crawls, and for campus old hands, the subject of many a fond half-memory.

It is one of a few campus institutions genuinely immune to cynicism in an era in which we seem to be marching inexorably towards the corporatisation of university life. A quick Facebook search will reveal the page ‘Saving The Adelaide UniBar From Closure’. Fans? Two thousand four hundred and thirty two.

Despite this strong student sentiment, there is a great deal of confusion surrounding the actual control of Union House and associated ex-AUU services. Though the long-term viabil-

ONDITMAGAZINE ― FEATURES

Saving the UniBar

ity of many of the smaller campus outlets may well be in doubt, the real question insofar as the UniBar is concerned has never been whether it should continue operating. The dilemmas and conflicts of the last three years have centred on the question of who should be charged with operating key student services – and the attendant question of what sort of campus culture the University should aspire to have.

The UniBar, along with the other major North Terrace food and beverage outlets, was run by the AUU up until 2007, when the aftermath of VSU forced the Union to consider divesting itself of some of its operations. The University presented the Union board, which was at the time led by David Wilkins, with a financial arrangement under which the AUU would be provided with $1.2 million annually in funding for ten years in exchange for certain AUU assets.

The initial conditions of the arrangement were quite demanding, seeking a complete takeover by the University of campus food and beverage services, as well as several other contentious

provisos – specifically a University takeover of the Union’s art collection and Unibooks. The majority of the board had won their positions after campaigning on a ‘Save the UniBar’ platform, and as such, this was a key concern for the AUU in their negotiations with the University.

Negotiations with the Vice-Chancellor resulted in the agreement being amended – the Union was to retain the $1.2 million funding figure, but was to keep Unibooks, the art collection, and the UniBar. Matters became more complicated at the next meeting of the AUU board. Former board directors claim that David Wilkins presented to the board two budgets – one modelling the scenario of the Union retaining the UniBar and taking a significant loss, and one modelling the UniBar being yielded to the University in exchange for the receipt of campus vending machine revenue, resulting in a projected profit. Drawing the board’s attention to certain key financial reporting dates stipulated by the University of Adelaide Act, Wilkins maintained that the board

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Saving the UniBar

32

would be required to pass a budget at that meeting. A vote was conducted, with nine directors voting for, six against, and two abstaining, the UniBar was lost.

Wilkins, despite running in 2007 on the ‘Save the UniBar’ campaign, today stands by the decisions he made in 2007: ‘This idea that the AUU Board was bullied or misled into ratifying the budget is absolute nonsense. That particular meeting went for 5 hours (one of the longest that I have ever participated in) in which the Board engaged in robust debate about either proposal. As board directors, we have a financial duty to ensure that the best interests of the organisation is put first. It was my strong belief that taking the offer from the University was in the best interest of the AUU because the alternative was that the organisation would have insufficient funds past June 2008. And it is with the benefit of hindsight, and the fact that the AUU still exists, stronger than ever before in a post-VSU environment, that I am confident that the AUU Board made the right decision.’

The University, after taking control of the campus food and beverage services, did not go down the anticipated route of handing the asset management over to Property Services. Instead, the National Wine Centre (NWC) – a wholly owned subsidiary of the University – was selected as the new operator, and a contract was established under which the NWC would operate North Terrace food and beverage outlets and manage bookings for rooms in Union House for a period of three years.

The relationship between the NWC and their student customers was rocky from almost the beginning. A disciplined commercial operation, the NWC policed its monopoly rights on campus zealously. Former AUU board director Paris Dean recalls ‘one incident where they attempted to

stop students selling cans of soft drink on the Barr Smith Lawns for a dollar to raise money for their club. It was this kind of ultimately self defeating attempt at being ruthlessly competitive by throwing around their monopoly power that ended up making the students and clubs - that should have been the NWC's mainstay - bitter and frustrated.’

Former AUU board directors found themselves inundated with student complaints. Students frequenting the Rainbow Room found that they were no longer permitted to refill their kettle from the sink in Rumours. Small clubs found the NWC difficult to deal with when arranging room bookings in Union House. A joint LaborLiberal Club function, planned to take place in the UniBar, was cancelled after the NWC deemed the event ‘too political’. Engineering students found themselves forced into hiring NWC staff for campus events, regardless of the competitiveness of the pricing. The Union was even prohibited from placing five new vending machines on campus, on the grounds that such an expansion would present an unacceptable competitive risk to the National Wine Centre’s operations on campus. Such incidents led to repeated complaints by the AUU, but these supposedly fell upon deaf ears. Says Emmett-Grey, ‘Every time we’d bring up a complaint – these rooms weren’t open, these students were kicked out of a booking – they’d either make up an excuse, or just deny that it happened.’

Mark Balnaves, Independent Chair of the board of the National Wine Centre, asserts that many of the scuffles between the AUU and the NWC were the result of breaches of University policy by student clubs. Balnaves claims that the NWC took seriously its commitment to upholding University regulations, and that the NWC prohibited certain events or activities in line

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Saving the UniBar

with these policies.

The NWC operated through 2008 and late into 2009, until December brought about a sudden and unexpected change. Despite having twelve months remaining under its agreement, the NWC announced that it was ending its North Terrace arrangement, with both the University and the NWC supposedly agreeing to a mutual contractual break. Staff found themselves out of work immediately before Christmas. Rumours persist on campus that the NWC lost a significant sum of money in its first twenty four months of operations, and that this loss contributed to the withdrawal, but this is denied by Balnaves, who argues that the NWC was more commercially successful than the AUU. What of the nature of the contractual break?

Paris Dean asserts that ‘The critical issue is that the NWC really didn't have to respond to criticism. It was independent enough that the University couldn't control it, but it was owned by the Uni and I think it was highly unlikely that the Uni would do anything more substantial than quietly rap it on the knuckles.’ Further complicating matters, the NWC was contractually obliged to provide $100,000 each year in sponsorships to student groups on campus. In its final year of operations, the NWC had $24,000 left to allocate. Balnaves asserts that the NWC was only obligated to provide the funds if doing so would result in a commercial benefit, and that there was never an unconditional requirement to exhaust the funding allotment.

Following the sudden break with the NWC, a tender process was commenced in order to find a new service provider for the North Terrace campus. Subject to final agreement, the not-forprofit University of Adelaide Club, will now operate the food and beverage services on campus,

as well as room bookings in Union House. At the time of writing, it has been confirmed that the UniBar, Mayo, Backstage, Briefs, and Rumours will remain operating, though Rumours will be available only as a bookable space for clubs and events. Negotiations over UBC are ongoing.

Paris Dean is enthusiastic about the change: ‘The problem with the NWC was firstly that it was a monopoly provider and secondly that the University owns it, and in my view, is unlikely to sue a company it owned to enforce a breach of contract. The staff club will be a monopoly provider, but from what I have heard recognises that students are their customers, not their competition.’

AUU President Fletcher O’Leary is also enthused about the organisational culture of the University Club. ‘Our talks with the University Club have been overwhelmingly positive.

They've volunteered to come along to a clubs council meeting and meet all the delegates and hear their concerns direct, some of the petty things that the NWC were doing (like refusing to let the rainbow room fill up their kettle in Rumours) they've told us is ridiculous and they'll not repeat.’

What of the pricing arrangements at Mayo?

Some students have questioned why the 2009 prices have been maintained into the new year despite the takeover by the not-for-profit University Club. At the February 24 meeting of the AUU board, Fletcher O’Leary explained that the Club is maintaining the old pricing as a short term measure in order to recoup the capital expended during the takeover process. The Club is of the view that prices may be lowered in the medium term.

And the future of the UniBar? O’Leary isn’t worried. ‘There is no cause for concern. The Unibar is one of the few outlets that makes money, rain or shine.’

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ABOUT THE WRITER

JOHN ELDRIDGE is a Queenslander-in-remission, completing his B.A. at Adelaide in 2010.

In his free time he writes

caustic letters to sundry upstanding institutions, in which he accuses them of 'bourgeois decadence'.

On Culture!

Defining Discs

34

Our culture writers wax lyrical about the old (and often daggy) albums that continue to mean a lot.

1

2

3

ONDITMAGAZINE ― CULTURE

Lame favourites

DAVID HARDEN on

1

RADIOHEAD'S OK COMPUTER (1997)

I

F I HAD been truthful from the start, I could have saved myself much deliberation in coming to this conclusion. Due to the romantic nostalgia of albums my parents listened to and a confrontation between my self and the self I felt I needed to portray, it took me exactly thirteen days of disjointed thinking on the matter to throw down the proverbial shackles and fervently state that OK Computer is my favourite album of all time.

For days I toyed with choosing something decidedly pompous by Serge Gainsbourg or Throbbing Gristle. Then I realised that I wasn't writing for Pitchfork and my readership would see through me. It's the sort of pretentiousness I usually embrace. Hell, I even own a threadless tee announcing that I listen to bands that don't even exist yet. But enough is enough. There is not one other album that I can so emphatically declare to be so enamoured with.

OK Computer is a beautiful, delicately layered record. Upon my first listen, I felt inherently connected to it. It was simultaneously like nothing and everything I had heard before. As clichĂŠ as it sounds, Radiohead were certainly ahead of their time. It sounds as fresh now as it did back in 1996 upon its initial release, and in 2002, when I, as a straight-laced 13-year-old school boy bought it from the best triangular record store in the world.

Take, for example, the epic 'Paranoid Android'; an eclectic, six and a half minute 'Bohemian Rhapsody' for the Facebook generation.

Or the deliciously down-tempo 'No Surprises',

which evokes an emotional response from even the most cold-hearted of wenches. I kid you not, each track demands praise and attention. For an album so diverse, it fits effortlessly into a seamless 53.3 minute package of unadulterated audiophilic bliss.

It was, and still is, an incredible rush to listen to something that sounds so damn good, all the while discussing the consumerist destruction and dehumanisation of society. While my classmates spent their newly pubescent existence masturbating, skipping class and dabbling with reefer and beer, I masturbated, pondered the imminent downfall of mankind and listened to OK Computer.

A modern classic, OK Computer demands immersive listening. Lock the door, close the blinds, slip on some headphones, recline, and see what all the fuss is about.

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SEB TONKIN

2

on

TOOL'S LATERALUS (2001)

I

'M NOT GOING to write about my favourite album. Heck, knowing me, it'd be different in a few weeks anyway. My attention tends to flit from record to record quite rapidly - which brings me to what I will write about. It's not my favourite album, or even an album I like these days. However, embarrassing as it is, it's an album that held my attention longer than any other, and the one that first got me into modern music. Tool's Lateralus.

I won't bore you with the precise story - it will

ONDITMAGAZINE ― CULTURE

Lame favourites

36

suffice to say that I was young, impressionable, and musically sheltered. What's important is that I ended up with the album on my iPod, and soon after on my shelf. The orchestra geek in me loved the strange time signatures and virtuosity. To my ears, it was experimental - much better than the simple 4/4 music other bands played. Tool were perhaps heavier than I would have liked, true.

But it was the good kind of heavy, the heavy made by guys who talked about philosophy and took psychedelics for enlightenment purposes. Tool seemed smart. Looking back, they were kind of smart. Smarter at least than the Korn-style numetal they got lumped in with. Lyrically and conceptually, they were more intelligent than Muse are today (not that that's saying much). I had two things yet to realise: that Tool were only a little smart; and that smartness wasn't everything.

Nowadays I'd be more sceptical, but 14-yearold me ate that shit up. Before long, I had Tool's entire discography. Not long after that, I'd entered a world of dark-backgrounded fan-sites full of drug-addled musings and complex song interpretations.

Did you know that the chorus to 'Lateralus' rhythmically fits the Fibonacci sequence? Because I sure did. Open your third eye, people.

I don't need to be told that it was pretty wanky, and you certainly won't catch me listening to Lateralus today. However, and this might just be nostalgia, I don't think it's a terrible album for what it is. Within its own intent and context, the execution is pretty much flawless. Lateralus is a cohesive and polished artistic statement.

It's just a pretty boring one. What I thought was

experimental is actually stuff King Crimson did in the '60s. What I thought was heavy is in fact pretty mall-friendly. It's a protracted prog-metal opus wrapped in a thin shroud of mysticism that says nothing of any profundity. But at least it's not Dream Theater.

Tool were kind of self-defeating simply because they liked to tour with bands a lot more interesting than they were. The Melvins led me down the loud rabbit-hole of doom and sludge.

Post-metal-heads Isis were, oddly enough, my indirect introduction to shoegaze bands like Ride (we've been best friends since). Melt-Banana, an utterly baffling choice for Tool opener, were my first band that could be called "noisy". This introduction to a slightly weirder world, coupled with an increasing curiosity about what lay under that giant "indie" umbrella, left Tool in an unnecessary middle ground. Actually, thinking about it, nearly all the guitar music I listen to today can be traced back to one of three things: the Shrek soundtrack, the Radiohead album my dad didn't really like, or Lateralus. It won't do any wonders for my fledgling indie cred, but it's true.

Tool released 10,000 Days in 2006, five years after Lateralus. They then promised a much shorter wait for the next album, of which nothing substantial's been heard since. I've stopped caring. Five years between albums gives one ample time to move on a little. It's sad (and a little revealing) that a band that meant so much to me can mean so little after so few years. But sometimes, part of me yearns. Not for the record itself, but for the simpler past, when I could be genuinely, intensely, exclusively obsessed by an album. The times when it was just 14-year-old me, some shitty headphones, and a well-worn copy of Lateralus.

ONDITMAGAZINE ― CULTURE

Lame favourites

WALTER MARSH on

3

RODNEY CROWELL'S THE HOUSTON KID (2001)

I

KIND OF LIKE country music. There, I said it. When you've been less than subtly brainwashed from birth to have a profound appreciation of Johnny Cash's extended family, it's difficult to detest it. Rodney Crowell is, and has been, my father's favourite male artist for as long as I've known. His stuff was played to me in the womb, so I never stood a chance. After 19-plus years of near-relentless bombardment, I now feel somewhat at one with the twangy, slightly nauseating harmonies as filtered through myriad time periods and production styles; from the earnest rock n' roll and violindriven country of his 1977 debut, to the horribly kitsch 80's production values of cheesy hit 'Life is Messy'. This song featured the memorable lyric "life is messy, I feel like Elvis Presley". Now, for a long time, I thought maybe this was a childish mistake, that I'd misheard that woeful rhyme as a 4-year-old, only for it to become cemented in my mind. But I listened to it again recently. That's exactly how the song goes.

You know in primary school, when you have no specific or formed musical tastes and you ingest pretty much anything on Video Hits without question, only to have something of a significant (in retrospect quite pedestrian) breakthrough in taste at the start of high school? Well, for me, that musical re-awakening was led by Ben Folds, The Beatles, and, of course, Rodney Crowell.

Rodney went through a wilderness of sorts too.

After spending the 90's better known as the now ex-husband of Rosanne Cash, he seemed to be in the familiar rut of another once great Nashville

songwriter turned a little bit shit. Then in 2001, on the rough side of of 50, he pulled off a masterstroke: he showed his age. The Houston Kid embraced his childhood and adulthood; his mistakes and his joys were all rendered gloriously in a spell of newly inspired and mature songwriting. These reminiscences were never saccharine in their nostalgia. They were often downbeat, but carried a subtley pervasive optimism.

On 'I Walk The Line Revisited', a single from the album, he thinks back to his earliest exposure to the music he loves: "the first time I heard Johnny Cash sing I walk the line", followed by his now ex-father-in-law Cash re-delivering his most famous chorus in his smooth baritone. Tracks like these show a man at one with his childhood and debauched adulthood, as well as all the joy, music, abuse, and divorce that came with it. At other times, he ruminates on the fate of his baby twin neighbours; he sings 'I Wish It Would Rain' and 'Wandering Boy' from the perspective of each brother as one of them succumbs to AIDS. Turmoil befalls all Houston Kids, you see.

It's perhaps appropriate that this, his most honest and emotive work (as well as his most "mature" sounding to date) found a whole new audience in the same moody, burgeoning altcountry scene that his former life as a Nashville gun-for-hire would have alienated and repulsed.

It triggered a late career renaissance of sorts, with a series of three albums that similarly showed a man simultaneously growing old and bursting with creativity. Since then he's been covered by everyone from Keith Urban to The Mountain Goats.

Last year, he announced his first Australian tour in a long time. Dad and I both made the pilgrimage to Melbourne for the show. Sure, he was old as hell, wore a tacky vest, looked one facelift short of Robert Redford, and was promoting an album creepily entitled Sex and Gasoline, but I'll be damned if it wasn't one of the best things I've seen.

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On Campus!

The Union Hall Saga

To Be, or Not To Be Just when it appeared to be the last curtain call for Union Hall, a flickering light at the end of the tunnel has appeared, with the building being awarded provisional heritage listing. The Register Committee of the South Australian Heritage Council made the recent decision which threatens to derail the University’s plans to build a state of the art photonic and post graduate research centre on the site.

Since their announcement to the public in September last year, the multi-million dollar plans have been scarred by dissent from members of both the University and greater Adelaide community.

The combined efforts of the SA National Trust, Adelaide City Council and ‘Save the Union Hall’ lobby were not in vain, with Union Hall being officially awarded temporary listing on the merit of it being ‘a rare example of theatre design rep-

resenting the mid 20th century functionalist or modernist style’.

This, as one would expect, is not a decision welcomed by the University, who will be unable to make any adjustments to the building if permanent listing is granted. Head of the Division of Services and Resources at the University Paul Duldig regrets the Council’s decision but is confident the application will be rejected as it was the last time Union Hall was put up for heritage listing in 1996. He concedes that the University is concerned with the possibility that it may be approved, and is looking to the students and the University community to lend their support for the build. The AUU is currently drafting a submission against granting Heritage Status to Union Hall, believing this not to be in the long-term interests of students. The AUU will be conducting a student enquiry to ascertain their official position regarding the use of the site (distinct from the Heritage listing).

Over the next three months, the Heritage Council will accept any submissions from the public, both for and against permanent listing, and use these as a basis for their final decision to affirm Union Hall to or revoke it from the Register. Until then the site will be provided with the full protection of the Heritage Council.

- Sarah Bown

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ONDITMAGAZINE ― ON CAMPUS

Campus Events

O'Ball

40

Just as we’ve groggily shaken off the last vestiges of the O’Week with its many revelries now a hazy blur of bright lights, milk vomit and the AUES megaphone, we are again set upon again by the biggest party of them all, the AUU O’Ball.

O’Ball is a jewel of the Semester 1 calendar, with education and rock n’ roll forming an ungodly alliance as ascendant and established acts alike from around the country gather to lay waste to our humble cloisters. What’s not to love about Yves Klein Blue thrusting and strutting on the very same floorspace where you usually struggle through another batch of Mayo Wedges?

Walter Marsh spoke to 2010 O’Ball Director and all-round nice guy Jonathan Brown about this year’s event.

How do you go about selecting the lineup? Is it a challenge appealing to a pretty diverse range of musical tastes within the student population as well as getting bigger name bands to come down to Adelaide?

There’s a lot of factors that come into it, I mean a lot of bands we wanted were busy with SXSW. It’s such a pain in the arse. We were considering Bertie Blackmanas as well, but things got in the way of that as well. But yeah, we had a few bands on the cards but ultimately budget and timing are two of the hardest things to play out.

How about managing the mix of local and interstate bands that feature on the bill?

It’s a tricky balance. We considered having more locals on the lineup, but I think at the end of the day one of the reasons we picked The Waterslides was they seemed well suited to a festival atmosphere. There are bands who are great live performers that we didn’t book just on the basis of trying to suit that festival feel, the slightly bigger stage, the outdoors, and the big party vibe. That’s not saying there aren’t local bands that would, but we had that opportunity to squeeze that bit more out of our budget and expand our horizons and bring in some acts that people don’t to see in Adelaide that often. I think part of putting together a good festival is giving people a taste of a whole bunch of artists they wouldn’t normally get the opportunity to see.

For me, Radio Adelaide’s been a fantastic way to find out whether bands are any good live.

There’s nothing like an on air radio performance with nothing but that pure live feed to let you know if a band is any good. We had Cloud Control strip down and give us a live performance and they sounded amazing, but were still really humble.

What are some of the challenges the directors encounter in putting on O’Ball each year?

I’d say the biggest thing for O’Ball is that VSU cut a lot of money out of it. Where they used to have up in the range of nearly $100k just to book artists we’re looking at much much less than that budget wise. It’s really tricky in that sense. It’s putting on a festival that we think is the same calibre for less than half the cost of what they used to get. But for us we’ve just taken it as an opportunity to book some slightly more emerging artists who we think are really fantastic live performers and we think their live reputations will really carry the festival, not just their names. I guess the biggest thing is keeping up the festival’s reputation with a lot less money after VSU. What is your best past O’Ball moment?

ONDITMAGAZINE ― ON CAMPUS

I really loved Children Collide back in 2009.

They were a good example of a band being booked for O’Ball that hadn’t quite hit their stride and made it at that point they were booked, but then when it got closer to the date their album really started getting attention. They just completely blew up and a lot of people came wanting to see them. It’s always fun having Peter Combe as well, they have been fun years. I think everyone enjoys that but we’d kill the novelty if we had him every year.

Do you find it’s difficult marketing to a whole bunch of different demographics within the student population, as well as outsiders to Adelaide Uni? I think in marketing it the fact that it’s called ‘O’Ball’ really confuses people. There seems to be this perception that it’s actually a ball with gowns and suits. Even though it’s been running for years and years a lot of people come to it fresh faced having no idea, and get confused simply by the title. We definitely want it to have a broader audience; it is partly about celebrating the start of the new year for students and giving new students an opportunity to get a bit of a taste for campus culture. All ages music events… we’re actually really lucky to have as many as we do in SA and we shouldn’t take it for granted, so I think O’Ball’s one of the really great all ages ones out there. I guess for one there are actually quite a few students out there who start uni at 17 and turn 18 during their first year and I think for high school students O’Ball would be a great introduction to live music. We’d love to be one of their first introductions to listening to good Australian music. We’d love to be one of those first points of call, and I don’t think we’ve really capitalised on it enough in the past. It would be really great for the O’Ball to promote live Australian music and be one of the things that encourages young people to go out and see it cause it’d be great to see our venues fill up more.

O’Week, an event organised every year by the AUU (Adelaide University Union) to welcome first year student s into a new chapter in their life as well as to welcome back other students, took place from the 22nd to the 25th of Febuary.

This year the Barr Smith Lawns saw more events, more competitions and more stalls, and although the number of people who attended this year was down somewhat from previous years especially in regard to new students - the event was still considered a success by the AUU. This year’s volunteer O’Week student directors were Shaliza Manmohan, Rochelle Gould, and Kristin Gillies. The lower numbers are attributed to the lack of preliminary lectures held in Union Hall.

The AUU has already matched its members from last year (approaching 3000 memberships sold). Sports Association memberships were down, possibly due to their being separated from the rest of the stalls due to the limited space available.

The SRC had some trouble this year with the distribution of the Counter Guide, it not arriving from printing until Wednesday. This was because of a file transportation error. The Counter Guides were handed out during preliminary lectures held later during the week.

The Clubs Association suffered a break-in on the Monday of O’Week. A cashbox and several other items were stolen.

-Walter Marsh

- Lachlan Jardine

O'Week 2010 Wrapup

O’ver

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ONDITMAGAZINE ― ON CAMPUS

Hughes Plaza Development

The Wall

42

My name is Daniel, and I like graffiti. And, you know, I'm pretty sure I'm not the only one who does. Students love defacing things, giving their opinions, discussing, debating, making controversy. And when it comes to the new "Learning Hub" - the $35 million project being built on Hughes Plaza especially for students - I know a lot of people will want to give their opinion on where those millions are going. Thankfully, a bunch of architecture students have come up with a solution.

A new student 'consultation wall' will be soon appearing in the Barr Smith Library, and will provide regularly updated information on the Hub throughout 2010. From concept to completion, the wall will give everyone the chance to provide feedback on the design, from what kind of services are included in the Hub, right through to the interior finishes.

The installation will appear in front of the temporary hoardings in level three of the ibrary.

It will consist of large floor-to-ceiling acrylic boards which spell out 'WHAT?', and information will be printed onto this acrylic. Permanent markers will be supplied so that students can write on the boards, graffiti-style; useful feedback will ultimately inform the final Learning Hub outcome.

The project was created by third-year design students Mara O'Toole, Tin Do, and myself, and funded by the university's Property Services Department. "We wanted to make the wall as fun to

use as possible," said O'Toole, pointing out the use of bright greens and pinks, and the large, pixelated typography.

The outcome is strongly defiant of the university's typical consultation approach. Whereas in the past, online surveys, application forms and emails have been the traditional student feedback medium, the design team agreed that a back-to-basics approach would be more fun and, crucially, more engaging to students.

"We [as students] don't always want to fill out surveys online‌ I'm guilty of deleting all of those promotional emails," O'Toole mentioned.

The consultation wall is a non-digital, hands-on installation which encourages feedback written by hand. As Do points out, "It's more personal that way, and you can see what other people are thinking, too."

The design is an exciting social experiment.

"We're not sure exactly what kind of comments people will be writing," said Do, "but we are pretty certain it will be constructive." As well as the consultation wall, the Project Development staff have assembled a dedicated Student Reference Group, with students who will continually assess the Learning Hub designs through to its completion, as well as an integrated marketing internship program.

From a student perspective, the new consultation wall heralds the first time in a long time that the university has engaged interested students in a practical, hands-on installation.

"We're really grateful for the experience," said O'Toole.

Let's hope the student feedback will be equally positive.

Check out the Consultation Wall on level three of the Barr Smith Library. All students are encouraged to write on the wall, but note that feedback will be most useful during March and April.

- Daniel Brookes

ONDITMAGAZINE ― ON CAMPUS

President's Column

State of the Union So O’Week is all over now, for another year. To everyone who sat through one of my speeches, I hope I didn’t fuck it up too much. To everyone at Lincoln College, thanks for not getting to angry about all the broken coffee cups (for everyone else, long story).

O’Week was a fun week. Big thanks go to the volunteers and staff, as well as everyone who came on down to the Barr Smith Lawns and took part. And cheers to everyone who signed up – our membership from O’Week and the first week back is equivalent to our entire membership last year, so I guess we must be doing something right.

It seems the University is one big construction site at the moment, and it’s probably not going to get better for a while yet. The second that the new Engineering building is complete, which will be within the next couple of months, they’re planning to knock down Union Hall – which is right next to it. Hughes Plaza continues to be a headache, and will be for at least the next couple of years.

We’ve received a few complaints about lecture venues being changed around sporadically, to occasionally bizarre locations. Some lectures have been held in Scots Church and the Masonic Lodge on North Terrace. While I’m sure that academics love the idea of being able to stand in a pulpit and

preach down to us, it’s not a very conducive environment for learning.

State elections are coming up, and it’s important that you vote. Really, really important.

Young people especially have the lowest voter enrolment and the lowest turnout of any demographic group. When you consider you’re going to be dealing with the ramifications of the decisions made today, you might want to get in on the action.

Keeping with politics, it looks like the Liberals and Family First are dead set against passing the changes to Youth Allowance proposed by the Government. These changes are supported by all of the Australian Vice-Chancellors (that’s 39 – ranging from sandstone’s like Sydney, to superTAFEs like the University of South Australia) and the National Union of Students (NUS). The changes would have been the most significant changes to YA since 1993.

Some of the proposed changes in the legislation include: • making around 150 000 students eligible for start up scholarships • raise the parental income test. Currently if your parents earn $32 800 (COMBINED) your YA starts getting cut • reducing the age of independence from 25 to 22 It’s still not perfect, but considering the very different world we live in now compared to 1993 (when a loaf of bread cost 25c and Windows 3.1 would blow your mind), these are changes that bring it up to speed. NUS has called for a day of action on March 24th – they’re going to have the world’s largest noodle eating competition.

Until next time, Fletcher.

- Fletcher O'Leary

Next AUU Board meeting: 24th March, 5.30pm, Margarete Murray Room

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Illustrations by Katie Barber

ONDITMAGAZINE ― COLUMNISTS

What's your most memorable festival experience?

ELIZABETH FLUX

When people hear the word “Fringe”, they do not usually think of a man with three earlobes. Or maybe they do. If so, we should all totally meet up over a cup of tea and discuss our future facebook group.

The year was 1996. My heart was yet to go on, the city was plastered with posters of a screaming blue child, and my major life goal was to find that wily fiend Wally – whom incidentally, I now suspect is actually Harry Potter in the witness protection program.

Ginny could totally take Wenda.

Anyhow, I was the rainbow-colour, musicnote, year-itch age, so when my parents started talking “Fringe” I fully expected to be marched into the bathroom and attacked with scissors.

Alas, it was not to be, and before you could say “how now brown fox quickly throwing rocks at glasses half full” I was bustled into the car and on my way to the city. That’s how I came to be standing outside FringeTix, complete with parents, youthful ignorance, and curiosity about the man with the torn right ear lobe.

There is also a residual sense of everything seeming orange, the way that sometimes happens in memory, but I guess that is beside the point.

Now I’m not sure about everyone else, but the seven year old me was convinced that crimes were happening everywhere, just waiting for me to solve them. The mysterious man with a maimed ear? Merrily chatting away to a lady friend? My mind snapped into action, determined to figure out what was what and who was who.

Having learnt from the best (well, the Secret Seven), l deduced that the damage to his ear was caused by a shoulder dwelling parrot that had literally talked his ear off, and had then proceeded to snack on it. Parrots belong to pirates, and pi-

rates are pernicious. One cannot argue with alliteration.

In retrospect, he was just a performer sporting an ear stretching gone wrong. However, at the time I was wary because it was something I had never seen before, and just a little bit scared because like most seven year olds, I had attended the Disney school of Who-Is-A-Villain.

This man checked a lot of the boxes: obvious injury ala Scar and Captain Hook plus significant lack of bird, dwarf, or forest creature entourage.

He also wasn’t singing. Therefore on the scare scale of the under tens, this experience ranked somewhere above the rabbit-pie baking Mrs. McGregor from Peter Rabbit, but below the horror that was the EC doll from Lift Off (I still have nightmares).

Overall, despite subsequent experiences, much like hop and skip, lamp and Brick, or the Jonas Brothers and “why?”, whenever I think of the Fringe, an image of this man will pop into my head, alongside a faint residual feeling of wariness…and an overwhelming sense of orange.

WIN

We pas have tw o awa ses to O'Ba double y! S wor impl l y em l to giv ds o fest n YOU ail us e cha ival me R favo 200 nce uri mo clos to win ry for a te ! e 18 th M (Entrie arch s ).

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ONDITMAGAZINE ― COLUMNISTS

What's your most memorable festival experience?

EMMA MARIE JONES

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This question seems to be popping up everywhere I look lately. Subsequently, I have jealously perused a number of glamorous responses from lucky folk who can actually lay claim to having met and partied with headline acts, donned their Glastonbury gumboots or followed a single festival around the country.

Not being a rabid festivalgoer, my own memorable festival moments tend to pale drastically in comparison. In fact, one of my more hardcore festival experiences is a very embarrassing one, and involves me passing out from dehydration during a ukulele solo in an undercrowded tent, about one hour after said festival had opened its gates.

With such slim pickings, my answer to the above question appears doomed to be, well, highly uninteresting. And uninteresting it may be, but memorable all the same.

The air of excitement as festival season takes hold appears contagious among the aforementioned glamorous folk. Conversely, as a pale, timid, bookish, and generally wussy type, I’m not cut out for feats of physical endurance such as standing in the sun for eight hours, and instead of excitement, tend to become gripped by a certain apprehensive fear. This doesn’t, however, diminish my love for music, live and/or otherwise, and on more than one occasion I have been known to commit the fatal error of purchasing a festival ticket and testing my strength. It doesn’t always end well.

I, like many Australians, popped my festival cherry at the Big Day Out – or, more accurately, as close as I could get to the Big Day Out, skulking around the perimeters of the Wayville Showgrounds in my school uniform. Exchanging shifty looks and swigs of Passion Pop with fellow truants, I was far too absorbed in my rebellion to catch the occasional drifting strain of Rise Against or the Hives.

Sadly, my festival memoirs go downhill from there.

I frequently attend festivals with a printout of the timetable folded in my pocket – yet still somehow manage to miss the one act I bought my ticket to see. A great proportion of my time at festivals is spent drinking water. A correlating proportion of my time at festivals is spent queuing for the bathroom. I lose wallets, cameras and phones at festivals. I also lose consciousness and dignity. Is my lack of enthusiasm for festivals becoming clearer?

And so it is that I have begun to devise a festival tactic of my very own. Everybody has one.

For some, it’s straight to the bar and away with sobriety in any way, shape, or form. For others, everything follows a heavily pre-meditated route; cramming in a small part of every set on every stage and missing nothing. Others still hover around the backstage entrance with a cigarette, the epitome of blasé, hoping to be noticed by a particular favourite without looking like a slavering fan.

Me? I’m equipped for survival. It’s like Man vs. Wild over here. Before I take my position in a moshpit, I’ve planned and perhaps even tested out an escape route. Strategic meeting points are fixed with friends before any kind of timetablerelated separation occurs. At any given moment, I know the location of the nearest restroom (or, in dire situations, semi-private shrub). I’m not smuggling drugs or alcohol into the venue – I’m stocked up on water, Panadol, No-Doz and salty, anti-nausea snacks. I’m probably better equipped than the St. Johns guy.

So who says pasty nerds can’t have a little fun at music festivals? The time has come to break the stereotype and create some memorable moments of my own. Stay tuned.anti-nausea snacks.

I’m probably better equipped than the St. Johns guy.

ONDITMAGAZINE ― COLUMNISTS

What's your most memorable festival experience?

PRISCILLA CHAI

Being home during the summer break not only means being able to be around family and friends, but also to celebrate a festival of red packets, feast-till-you-drop reunion dinners and nosy relatives.

There was nothing special this year compared to the last, but don't get me wrong - of all the Chinese New Years that I have celebrated throughout my 21 years of existence, this year was definitely the most memorable one. Firstly, the feeling of seeing familiar faces after spending months down under was simply indescribable. Sure, Facebook, emails and phone calls (and the occasional snail mail!) enable one to keep in touch, yet nothing tops the feeling of seeing people in person and enjoying their physical company. No, we did not get drunk or gamble our life savings away via mahjong, nor did we get our hair burnt playing with firecrackers (which, by the way, are banned here). Rather, this festive season is more of a family gathering, over lots of food and wellwishes. Of course, and who can forget receiving red packets containing good old cash? Used as a symbol to give and receive blessings, red packets are given by elders to young, unmarried children like yours truly. To my family, Chinese New Year is more of a cultural festival prevent us from sticking red couplets that scream "longevity" and "happiness", though. After all, who doesn't want those?

I also secretly enjoy the different overplayed tunes in the malls (minus the horrendously remixed ones). It is because of this atmosphere that I look forward to jetting home, just like many other Chinese. Home is more than a physical infrastructure on a fleeting landscape. It is about going back to familiar territories and reaffirming relationships with people that matter to

you. To know that you belong somewhere warms you inside out. Sometimes new homes are created, like over here with my very lovely friends at this university. Many of us have our dreams and aspirations, be it to work overseas, to move out of state, or to simply do something beneficial to humanity. Yet at the end of the day, there is a sense of wanting to feel part of a group and community that you can connect with. Relatives notorious for their never-ending questions can be a bane to some, yet nothing changes the fact that you share something in common. I feel fortunate that there is a place that I can look forward to going back to, even as others come and go. As Valentine's Day also coincidentally falls on the first day of Chinese New Year this year, this is a wonderful time to also let everyone know how much you appreciate them in your life (but no thanks auntie, no boyfriend). As of now, I feel rejuvenated knowing that there are so many wonderful people in my life, and that certainly makes returning to uni a lot easier. Don't you love the summer break?

Happy Chinese New Year everyone, whether you are Chinese or not.

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N DO GETsses to us FOR ble pa mail

e R dou imply YOU ory o Tw ll... s ds on mem l a r !

O'B 0 wo estiva d win 0 2 ite f coul our ou fav and y

47

THE FUNNIES: AUSTRALIAN MUSIC FESTIVALS HUNG OUT TO DRY

A leading Australian sociology professor claimed this week that the very fabric of Australian music festivals could soon unravel after recording unprecedented levels of shirtlessness at recent events.

"The music festivals we know and love are hanging by a thread," claims Associate Professor, James E. Chemise, of Macquarie University. "I recently attended the Big Day Out and Falls Festivals and the number of shirtless men I observed was unforeseen, surpassing even last year’s Sydney Mardi Gras."

According to Professor Chemise, the future isn’t looking too bright either.

"Our research team at Macquarie predicts that shirtlessness will exponentially increase in the next three years to a saturation point where the only attendees of most major music festivals will be young males without shirts, easily identified by a Southern Cross tattoo emblazoned upon their burnt skin."

Chemise bluntly likens the rise of shirtlessness to that of the humble cane toad, an introduced pest to Queensland whose distribution is now so widespread, it is found in environments such as Kakadu where it is not expected nor indeed wanted.

But unlike the cane toad, the origin and rapid growth of shirtlessness at Australian music festivals is shrouded in mystery.

Pablo Guayabera, a behavioural psychologist from The University of South Australia, offers some suggestions for its rapid ascension. "It is very difficult behaviour to categorise, although I do think we are seeing a classic alpha male battle occurring on unfathomably illogical scales. Those involved don’t seem to understand that when they are competing against thousands of other shirtless men, the odds are rather stacked against them. It’s a case of slip off a shirt, slop on some chauvinism and slap on a bit of social undesirability."

Crucial links have been made regarding shirtlessness and musical taste. The past five years has seen the rise of bogan friendly dance rock which some believe to be the key factor in this widespread demographic change. The meteoric rise of acts such as The Presets has paved the way for new artists like Art vs. Science and Miami Horror. Unfortunately howev-

er, industry experts have warned that simple removal of such acts from festival line ups will not curb the problem, as shirtlessness has also infiltrated independent music.

However dire this crisis may appear, it seems similar problems have occurred elsewhere and practical solutions have been employed. In Japan, cultural intervention has made it socially acceptable for the average festival punter to throw animal lard at shirtless individuals. This practise is often coupled with the yelling of a term that literally translates to “bag for douche”. However impractical this may seem, it has certainly made shirtlessness in Japan as rare as open discussion about the Second World War. A more practical and placid solution suggests the moving of festivals to cooler months and locations. "Move the Falls Festival to Thredbo in August," jibes prominent promoter, Tim Raglan. "The yobs can choose to come shirtless if they please but the buggers will be struck down with hyperthermia by the end of the first set!"

Possible solutions these may prove to be. Action must be taken soon or it will be too late. Most will agree that we cannot afford to gamble on the future of Australian music festivals, or before we know it, we too may lose the shirts off our back.

-David Harden - Illustration by Lillian Katsapis